Vance

This case turns on the trial court’s misassignment of the burden of proof. The presumption created by section 16004 of the Probate Code that a trustee who commingles trust funds with her own funds violates her fiduciary duty to the trust applies only to the relationship between a trustee and trust beneficiaries. Here, the trial court applied the presumption for the benefit of a creditor of the trustee, not a beneficiary of the trust. This was error.

The beneficiary of a trust may disclaim the beneficial interest as long as she has not already accepted that interest. Sally Gordon was both a trustee and a beneficiary of the Wallace and Pearl Burt Trust (WPB Trust). Respondent Don Bizek, who is a stranger to the WPB Trust, obtained a judgment against Gordon in an unrelated case and sought to execute his judgment against Gordon’s beneficial interest in the WPB Trust. In response, Gordon filed a disclaimer of her beneficial interest in the WPB Trust. If the disclaimer is valid, it caused Gordon’s beneficial interest to descend to appellant Cyndi Vance, Gordon’s daughter and successor beneficiary. If the disclaimer is void, Bizek may attach Gordon’s beneficial interest in the…